It is the second jailbreak staged by Redoine Faid who in 2013 blasted his way out of a French prison using dynamite before being recaptured six weeks later

(INTERPOL/AFP/File)

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A notorious career thief who was once France's most-wanted man pulled off a daring jailbreak on Sunday, fleeing a prison in the Paris area by helicopter, officials said.

Redoine Faid, 46, broke out of the prison in Reau in the city's southeastern suburbs within minutes, helped by a number of heavily-armed men, sources close to the case said.

He fled with three accomplices, according to the sources. The helicopter was later found in a northeastern suburb of the French capital, they said, adding that a police search has been launched across the entire Paris region.